Youth National Team Update: Aug. 26-Sept. 1

NewsSep 2, 2003

U.S. U-20s FINISH IN THIRD PLACE AT L’ALCUDIA TOURNEY IN SPAIN: The U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team took third place at the L’Alcudia International Tournament in Spain by defeating Russia 5-3 in penalty kicks after being knotted 0-0 at the end of regulation of the third place match. Patrick Ianni, Drew Moor, Miguel Saavedra, Arturo Alvarez, and Clint Dempsey all converted from the penalty spot for the U.S. The U-20’s advanced to the knockout round after drawing 0-0 with Slovenia in their final group match. In their earlier two group games in the eight-team tournament, the U-20s defeated Egypt 3-0 on goals from David Johnson, Danny Karbassiyoon and Saavedra, and tied Russia 1-1, with Johnson scoring from the penalty spot in the 16th minute. In the semifinals, the U.S. fell to Uruguay 1-0. The U-20s began the trip with a 1-0 exhibition loss to the reserve team from Spanish club Villareal. The U-20s remain in preparation for the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship, which will be held in the United Arab Emirates from Nov. 27 to Dec. 19.U.S. Under-20 MNT Results – L’Alcudia International TournamentDate Opponent Result U.S. Goal ScorersAug. 21 Egypt 3-0 W D. Johnson, Karbassiyoon, SaavedraAug. 23 Russia 1-1 T D. JohnsonAug. 25 Slovenia 0-0 T ---Aug. 27 Uruguay 0-1 L ---Aug. 28 Russia 0-0 T (5-3 PKs)

U.S. SOCCER EXPANDS FULL-TIME UNDER-17 RESIDENCY PROGRAM TO 40 PLAYERS: U.S. Soccer has increased the number of players in their full-time Residency Program to 40 players, all of whom begin the fall semester tomorrow (Sept. 3) at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. The additional 10 spaces in the residency program were added for the fall semester, as U.S. Soccer continues to increase its player development opportunities in this country. This is the second year in a row that 10 additional players were added to the program, as just last year U.S. Soccer increased the number of players in the residency program from 20 to 30. The 40 U.S. players, which will be separated into a U-16 and U-17 squad, will attend classes at nearby Edison Academy and then return to the IMG campus to train in the afternoon under the guidance of U.S. Under-17 head coach John Ellinger and assistant coaches John Hackworth, Keith Fulk and Peter Mellor.